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Subspace #2
Subspace Encounter
BEYOND THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE
Envy the psiontists. For only they can take the awesome psychic leap to the other side of subspace, the mysterious dimension that cuts star travel time to milliseconds. But this time they have gone too far. Beyond the rim of the Universe they find The Justicate -- a galactic empire ruled by the harsh laws of pride and war. This empire has its own psiontists....And across the farthest reaches of time and space, a fantastic adventure begins that will send thunderous echoes to every corner of the cosmos!
(back cover text, Berkley edition)
This is the last book Smith wrote before he died, and it had to be put together and completed after his death.
Envy the psiontists. For only they can take the awesome psychic leap to the other side of subspace, the mysterious dimension that cuts star travel time to milliseconds. But this time they have gone too far. Beyond the rim of the Universe they find The Justicate -- a galactic empire ruled by the harsh laws of pride and war. This empire has its own psiontists....And across the farthest reaches of time and space, a fantastic adventure begins that will send thunderous echoes to every corner of the cosmos!
(back cover text, Berkley edition)
This is the last book Smith wrote before he died, and it had to be put together and completed after his death.
198 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1983
24 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
E.E. "Doc" Smith
217 books325 followersEdward Elmer Smith (also E.E. Smith, E.E. Smith, Ph.D., E.E. “Doc” Smith, Doc Smith, “Skylark” Smith, or—to his family—Ted), was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and an early science fiction author, best known for the Lensman and Skylark series. He is sometimes called the father of space opera.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 11, 2015
This is a novel left unfinished by Smith and subsequently completed by LA Eshbach with the help of Smith’s notes and an additional manuscript which Smith had sent to Frederik Pohl, and one which did not see publication until almost twenty years after Smith’s death. It’s a sequel to ‘Subspace Explorers’ set in a future where many humans have developed their ‘psionic’ powers and are termed psiontists. Humanity has spread out into the galaxy due to the discovery of ‘subspace’.
Meanwhile, in a neighbouring dimension, another race of humans has founded an interplanetary civilisation, but one in which a communistic dictatorship is in charge.
‘Psiontists’ are treated as witches and charlatans here and any with psionic powers have to keep the fact a secret. An underground organisation of psiontists are working toward a revolutionary end.
In our universe, a group of psiontists aboard a fortified ship are investigating unexplained explosions and danger to ships (something that also appears to be happening in the second universe). Andrews, the leader of the team, has deduced that there is a psionic supermind at work somewhere, and while in rapport with his wife very briefly experiences the presence of the supermind which shows him the office of the dictator of Slaar, the evil empire of the other universe.
Smith appears, as he grew older, to have become more preoccupied with sex, or perhaps the more permissive publishers of the sixties permitted him liberties he could not take in the pulp magazines of the thirties and forties. Certainly in ‘Galaxy Primes’ we see a marked shift toward eroticism, where previously he would have restricted himself to describing a woman as a ‘Seven Sector Call Out’ and left it at that.
There was a certain chasteness in the Lensman saga that is done away with here. When Rodnar and Starrlah (psiontists of the Second Universe) first meet each other they grapple with such reckless abandon that he bursts the stitches of a wound he incurred in a gladiatorial battle.
There’s also a peculiar (and somewhat paradoxical) attitude to race. All the main protagonists are fit, young white Anglo Saxon types. The women are blonde for the most part. Smith points out that the differently skin-toned humans in the Second Universe all have their own worlds, and seldom marry or interbreed. The supreme tyrant, who is white, is considered by the protagonists of both universes to be, on the whole, not a bad egg, despite the fact he has been feeding his citizens to caged giant eagles for most of his career.
It later becomes evident that the worst aspects of this tyrannical civilisation are displayed by the dark skinned hook-nosed residents of Gharsh.
It’s a curious throwback to the pulp SF of the 1930s and before, such as Ray Cummings ‘The White Invaders’ in which dark-skinned brutes from another dimension invade earth to slake their desire for white Earth women. Indeed, the Gharshian whom Rodnar defeated in the arena and from whom he obtained his wound, had set his sights on Starrlah, to her horror and dismay.
There is no defence of this. Clearly there was no need to have included the background detail of racial segregation or to have made the Gharshians basically Arabic.
Smith was never a practitioner of decent dialogue either. He attempts to impose a form of hippy ‘right on daddio’ Sixties linguistics to his protagonists which is both stilted and confusing (see also van Vogt’s ‘Children of Tomorrow’). Added to this, when the Second Universe psiontists go undercover on the planet Gharsh, they adopt a local dialect and things get a bit surreal when they start talking about ‘whankers’.
The psiontists of both universes eventually meet up and unite, finding common ground in the language of science.
As is explained in the introduction, this novel was completed by LA Eshbach from drafts of manuscripts left by Smith and may well have been a different beast had Smith lived to finish it himself. Given the final publication date, it is something that would be of interest to Smith completists and SF historians rather than those seeking quality SF in the early Nineteen Eighties, although no doubt the publishers were hoping to cash in on the resurgence of interest in Smith in the Seventies when his Lensman series experienced an unexpected revival.
One of Smith’s great talents was for making the vastness of space real. One got a sense of the immensity of the universe, the vast empty distances that lie between one star and another. There is little of that here, which pains me somewhat.
If there can be such a thing as a pulp-fiction masterpiece then his Skylark, and certainly his Lensman series were unquestionably that; great stonking Space Opera sagas that still evoke that sense of wonder, or at least a vestige of it.
There are occasional flashes of the old ‘Doc’ here, but the moments are too few and far between.
Meanwhile, in a neighbouring dimension, another race of humans has founded an interplanetary civilisation, but one in which a communistic dictatorship is in charge.
‘Psiontists’ are treated as witches and charlatans here and any with psionic powers have to keep the fact a secret. An underground organisation of psiontists are working toward a revolutionary end.
In our universe, a group of psiontists aboard a fortified ship are investigating unexplained explosions and danger to ships (something that also appears to be happening in the second universe). Andrews, the leader of the team, has deduced that there is a psionic supermind at work somewhere, and while in rapport with his wife very briefly experiences the presence of the supermind which shows him the office of the dictator of Slaar, the evil empire of the other universe.
Smith appears, as he grew older, to have become more preoccupied with sex, or perhaps the more permissive publishers of the sixties permitted him liberties he could not take in the pulp magazines of the thirties and forties. Certainly in ‘Galaxy Primes’ we see a marked shift toward eroticism, where previously he would have restricted himself to describing a woman as a ‘Seven Sector Call Out’ and left it at that.
There was a certain chasteness in the Lensman saga that is done away with here. When Rodnar and Starrlah (psiontists of the Second Universe) first meet each other they grapple with such reckless abandon that he bursts the stitches of a wound he incurred in a gladiatorial battle.
There’s also a peculiar (and somewhat paradoxical) attitude to race. All the main protagonists are fit, young white Anglo Saxon types. The women are blonde for the most part. Smith points out that the differently skin-toned humans in the Second Universe all have their own worlds, and seldom marry or interbreed. The supreme tyrant, who is white, is considered by the protagonists of both universes to be, on the whole, not a bad egg, despite the fact he has been feeding his citizens to caged giant eagles for most of his career.
It later becomes evident that the worst aspects of this tyrannical civilisation are displayed by the dark skinned hook-nosed residents of Gharsh.
It’s a curious throwback to the pulp SF of the 1930s and before, such as Ray Cummings ‘The White Invaders’ in which dark-skinned brutes from another dimension invade earth to slake their desire for white Earth women. Indeed, the Gharshian whom Rodnar defeated in the arena and from whom he obtained his wound, had set his sights on Starrlah, to her horror and dismay.
There is no defence of this. Clearly there was no need to have included the background detail of racial segregation or to have made the Gharshians basically Arabic.
Smith was never a practitioner of decent dialogue either. He attempts to impose a form of hippy ‘right on daddio’ Sixties linguistics to his protagonists which is both stilted and confusing (see also van Vogt’s ‘Children of Tomorrow’). Added to this, when the Second Universe psiontists go undercover on the planet Gharsh, they adopt a local dialect and things get a bit surreal when they start talking about ‘whankers’.
The psiontists of both universes eventually meet up and unite, finding common ground in the language of science.
As is explained in the introduction, this novel was completed by LA Eshbach from drafts of manuscripts left by Smith and may well have been a different beast had Smith lived to finish it himself. Given the final publication date, it is something that would be of interest to Smith completists and SF historians rather than those seeking quality SF in the early Nineteen Eighties, although no doubt the publishers were hoping to cash in on the resurgence of interest in Smith in the Seventies when his Lensman series experienced an unexpected revival.
One of Smith’s great talents was for making the vastness of space real. One got a sense of the immensity of the universe, the vast empty distances that lie between one star and another. There is little of that here, which pains me somewhat.
If there can be such a thing as a pulp-fiction masterpiece then his Skylark, and certainly his Lensman series were unquestionably that; great stonking Space Opera sagas that still evoke that sense of wonder, or at least a vestige of it.
There are occasional flashes of the old ‘Doc’ here, but the moments are too few and far between.
September 8, 2022
If you like Doc Smith and you read Subspace Explorers, then you have to read this sequel. Remember, there’s a mystery in the first book around who or what initiated the explosion in psionic abilities in the human race. In typical Smith fashion, he gives an answer in the first book that satisfies the reader and eliminates a cliffhanger. The sequel gives the answer that’s true.
January 13, 2013
Like most of E.E. Doc Smith's books, this is an enthusiastic space opera romp. It's a weird genre that I've always felt he made his own. They have the Edgar Rice Burroughs vibe of continuous adventure and charging off to finder greater villains and greater allies in a lurid and fantastic pseudo-science fiction. This one does it less well than others, partly because it's a posthumous re-stitching of an unfinished manuscript. That rarely goes well.
The story lurches between two groups of Psiontists (psychic scientists, how can you not love that?) in First and Second Space on either side of Subspace. One bunch are basically us, the other belong to a violent merciless culture. Needless to say they turn out to be pals regardless and gang up on the "red-skinned, hook-nosed" bad guys and remorselessly exterminate them. Oh, did I not mention that E.E. Doc Smith also has some of the most questionable near-racism and sexism laced throughout? If you're easily offended by what feels to me like a genuine accident rather than deliberate prejudice then you might avoid some of his work... However, the relationships between male and female characters is always between the hulking super-masculine hero and the ballsy and smart chick, who is probably also a heroine. It's confusing. And sometimes they are smart, courageous and sexy.
There is also classic dialogue, especially when the characters are in dialect: "I'm hungrier'na bitch whanker with nine cubs, so let's get to scoffin' huh?" The story's not much in this (it's a sequel to Subspace Explorers which is more fun), but the political system and cultural differences presented in Second Space and gleefully over the top, such as all criminals being "eaglemeat", and the fantastical engines and machines they have make this enjoyable sci-fi fun.
It's okay, but if you're looking for his good stuff, read Skylark.
The story lurches between two groups of Psiontists (psychic scientists, how can you not love that?) in First and Second Space on either side of Subspace. One bunch are basically us, the other belong to a violent merciless culture. Needless to say they turn out to be pals regardless and gang up on the "red-skinned, hook-nosed" bad guys and remorselessly exterminate them. Oh, did I not mention that E.E. Doc Smith also has some of the most questionable near-racism and sexism laced throughout? If you're easily offended by what feels to me like a genuine accident rather than deliberate prejudice then you might avoid some of his work... However, the relationships between male and female characters is always between the hulking super-masculine hero and the ballsy and smart chick, who is probably also a heroine. It's confusing. And sometimes they are smart, courageous and sexy.
There is also classic dialogue, especially when the characters are in dialect: "I'm hungrier'na bitch whanker with nine cubs, so let's get to scoffin' huh?" The story's not much in this (it's a sequel to Subspace Explorers which is more fun), but the political system and cultural differences presented in Second Space and gleefully over the top, such as all criminals being "eaglemeat", and the fantastical engines and machines they have make this enjoyable sci-fi fun.
It's okay, but if you're looking for his good stuff, read Skylark.
October 13, 2011
I have only the vaguest of memories of Subspace Explorers, which is just as well because Smith ventures into the Justicate civilization, for the most part leaving the familiar characters behind.
Smith's late and incomplete work have been variously butchered by lesser 'associates', but despite the heavy editing necessary to stitch the Frankenstein's Monster of a manuscript into a single work, this comes off as very Smith-like. Like everything going back to Skylark it reads as a combination of an over-sugared eight year old and the clinical imagination of a chemical engineer.
The impression--likely incorrect--that I kept thinking of is Mad Men by way of the Star Trek mirror universe.
Smith's late and incomplete work have been variously butchered by lesser 'associates', but despite the heavy editing necessary to stitch the Frankenstein's Monster of a manuscript into a single work, this comes off as very Smith-like. Like everything going back to Skylark it reads as a combination of an over-sugared eight year old and the clinical imagination of a chemical engineer.
The impression--likely incorrect--that I kept thinking of is Mad Men by way of the Star Trek mirror universe.
August 5, 2015
I didn't get very far into this book, because it suffers from a series case of SPACE WORDS, which are words, but IN SPAAAAAACE.
Specifically, it seems that in order to accentuate the idea that the aliens (who are presented as speaking english from an english perspective, and are functionally identical to humans save for their skin tone) are really aliens, the author replaces 10-20 normal words with alternate made up words.
When the protagonists of the evil empire universe start talking, and the first words are "Did you varg the brang?" and then it got worse from there, I tried to hold on and hope it got better somewhere.
It did not.
Specifically, it seems that in order to accentuate the idea that the aliens (who are presented as speaking english from an english perspective, and are functionally identical to humans save for their skin tone) are really aliens, the author replaces 10-20 normal words with alternate made up words.
When the protagonists of the evil empire universe start talking, and the first words are "Did you varg the brang?" and then it got worse from there, I tried to hold on and hope it got better somewhere.
It did not.
July 4, 2019
This is the second book in a two-book series (the first being Subspace Explorers), and we have two story lines that seem separate, but eventually get tied together when when the inhabitants from two different universes combine to defeat an evil enemy. This is mostly missing the right-wing rants from the first volume and is a much more straight forward space opera, which is what Doc Smith is really best known for.
January 24, 2013
I think I would have liked it more in my late teens when I liked all of E.E. Doc Smiths other books. Now in my 50s,it doesn't quite have the same appeal.
April 10, 2016
not what I expected but still a good story from a master, completed after his death, by circumstances of fate and people keeping good notes.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews